Gakuen Alice: Finding Hotaru
by EHRON
Summary: "Ne, Natsume…" Mikan called to him as she gently pulled away from his embrace, grasping the hands that molded so fittingly with hers, gently into her own. Starring into his deep, fiery red eyes, filled with so much love, it gave her the courage to suddenly make her final decision. With unprecedented confidence and ease, she announced to him, "I'm going to look for Hotaru."
1. Chapter 1: Finding Hotaru

**Gakuen Alice - Finding Hotaru**

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**Chapter 1: Finding Hotaru**

—At the Beach—

"Na-Na-NATSUME! Where are we go-" Mikan stumbled as she suddenly walked into Natsume who was pulling her further away from the group. "Itai—"

"Mikan." Spoke Natsume softly, as he stopped and starred at the ocean's calm waters and the setting sun in the horizon, hand held tightly to his honey-coloured brunette.

Before Mikan could mutter another word, she looked up at Natsume and followed his gaze, starring out into the same, beautiful scenery and letting the salty-air wash over her entire being.

"Na…tsume." Mikan whispered as she quickly reminisced about what had just happened with everyone on the beach. Her mind slowly grasped the life that she once had, a life that she felt was missing in the six years that she was living in her village with Jii-chan and Bear.

Undaunted, a smile slowly crept on her face as she thought of the wonderful memories that were once just a blank void in her life.

Her mind slowly trailed off, as she continued to stare out into shimmering sea and how wonderful it would be to suddenly see her amethysts-eyed best friend. "Ho-Hotaru…" Mikan whispered to herself as a small tear formed in the corners of her eyes.

The one person she wished she could have also been able to see aside from Natsume. Upon seeing her eyes, Natsume reached over and gently wiped her tears away.

"Don't cry… Mikan" Natsume spoke softly to her with concern as he gently pulled her into his arms.

Surprised, Mikan let out a small gasp. Feeling the over whelming feeling of love that she had thought no one could compare to from school, small streaks of tears left her as she returned Natsume's embrace.

"Stupid, I'm not crying! If, if, if I was, Hotaru would be even sadder. It, it, it was just the sand! Some of the sand went into my eyes," Mikan lightly argued.

Natsume let out a small, almost inaudible chuckle as he closed his eyes and continued to embrace the honey-coloured brunette. The sounds of the waves washing over the beach continued to breeze over them, as were the distant voices of their reunited friends who stood crowded, engaging in their own conversations and watching them from afar.

"Ne, Natsume…" Mikan called to him as she gently pulled away from his embrace, grasping the hands that molded so fittingly with hers gently into her own.

Starring into his deep, fiery red eyes, filled with so much love, it gave her the courage to suddenly make her final decision. With unprecedented confidence and ease, she announced to him, "I'm going to look for Hotaru."

Mikan's hazel-brown eyes blazed as she continued, "I can't be as happy as I am without her, I'm sure she's waiting for me somewhere. I'm sure of it."

Looking away and starring out to sea, Mikan's eyes brimmed with determination as she contemplated her next steps and Natsume's reaction.

"_I have to look for Hotaru. She's definitely waiting for me. I'm sure she would do—"_

"She would do the same." Natsume said, finishing her thoughts for her. "And this time, I'm going with you."

Bewildered, Mikan turned to him as her face dropped with surprise.

"Natsume…" Mikan said as she looked into his eyes, eyes that always blazed with confidence and unfaltering belief.

"I won't leave you. Now that we're here together. I'm not letting you go this time….Mikan." Natsume said as he watched her eyes slowly tear up with joy and the smile that he couldn't take his eyes away from.

"Uhn!" Mikan agreed as she pulled him into her for a tight embrace.

"Oi, oi. Don't wipe your snot on my shirt." Natsume interjected as Mikan pushed him away and retorted, "I was not!"

A small smile crept onto his face as he suddenly grabbed a strand of her hair. "I like your hair like this." Before she could say anything, Natsume picked her up off her feet.

"Natsume! Wait! Natsume! Put me down!" Mikan shouted as she tried to get out of his hold.

"Not until I'm satisfied. This is your punishment for forgetting about me for the past 6 years." Natsume chastised as he walked towards the crowd that awaited there return.

Before they could inform the group of their plans, Kokoro cheerfully popped beside Natsume and said, "I told them all already."

Putting her down and gently back on her feet, Natsume teased, "I didn't think you would be this heavy Ichigo Kara."

Starring him down, Mikan eyed him for his ill-comment and turned her attention back to the crowd.

"Minna-san_…_we're going to look for Hotaru. I'm sure she would want me to." Mikan stated without hesitation as she addressed everyone.

"But, Mikan-chan," Narumi-sensei said," You just got back your memories and_—" _Starring into her unfaltering and unfazed gaze, Narumi hesitated and smiled, gently stating, "I'll help. I'll always be there for Mikan-chan." Narumi smiled at her as Mikan responded with her brilliant and radiant smile.

"When are we leaving?" Ruka asked both Natsume and Mikan as Mikan replied, "Tonight."

"Tonight?! No way. Nu-uh. Not tonight little shrimp." Tsubasa-senpai joined as he starred at Mikan, "I want you to spend another night here, or else you're not going…especially not with little black kitten there."

Tsubasa eyed Natsume as the atmosphere between them intensified.

"Nani hage." Natsume spoke, with a hinted tone of spite and challenge.

"Hage?! I'll have you know, although I'm not that much older than you, you stupid little brat, I'm_—" _

"Tsubasa-senpai," Mikan addressed him, "Fine. I'll need to make the proper arrangements and let Jii-chan and Bear know anyway."

"That's right Mikan-chan, and while we're at it, you'll need some protection, so I'll be spending the night at your place." Tono-senpai cheerily said as both Tsubasa, Natsume and Ruka starred him down.

Sweat dropping, Narumi interjected, "Ma, ma… I'm sure Natsume and Tsubasa are enough for the job."

With a quick look at Natsume, who quickly looked away annoyingly, Narumi continued, "Kazumi-san," looking in his direction, "we'll leave those three to deal with the rest and tie any loose ends here. Then, we'll wait for the three of them at the academy."

Nodding in agreement, the high school principal walked over to Mikan and gave her a quick tight squeeze before saying, "Mikan, I'll be going now." Then, looking over at Tsubasa and Natsume, "Don't do anything funny to my beautiful niece or else you're going to walk down a road, that I'm sure, you'll find quite different than what you may have originally planned." Saying that with a light yet menacing smile he turned to Shiki.

"I'll put a barrier around the three of you so that you can get back to the academy safe and sound, and Mikan," the middle school principal, gently smiled and commented, "you look just like Yuka when she was your age."

And, with those parting words, he snapped his fingers to cast his barrier alice on the three of them and teleported together with the high school principal in a blink of an eye.

"Now that we're done here, Mikan, we'll see you soon." Narumi smiled at her as he turned to the graduates of Class 2B.

"But, we just saw her." Sumire choked out as everyone joined in with her to stay longer.

"Everyone, it's been a long day for Mikan-chan, we best be getting back before nightfall. You'll be able to see her tomorrow." Narumi stated as her previous classmates ran to give her one last hug and their farewells.

"See you later Mikan-chan." Goshima spoke, waving good-bye with his face transformed back to Mikan's supposedly close friend from school.

"Mata ashita." Mikan called out to them all, as they teleported with Narumi-sensei back to the academy.

With Tono, Ruka, Tsubasa, Natsume and Mikan left on the beach now, dusk had disappeared and the night sky had crept up on them all. With the cold winds from the ocean's air blowing their way, Tono gave a shiver before grabbing Ruka's arm, "Well, we'll be off now. You have my stone Tsubasa? Use that to amplify the Telepathy stone if anything happens. Oh, and give me that teleportation stone you have on you. Natsume has one already."

Catching the stone thrown by Tsubasa, Tono gave Mikan one last hug. "If you need me Mikan-chan, all you'll need to do is_—,_" Before he could finish, Natsume lit Tono's feet on fire.

As he was dancing to put it out, Ruka looked over at Natsume, "Take care of her Natsume."

"Don't need to tell me that Ruka." Natsume replied with a smirk as he and Ruka pounded fists.

Turning to Mikan, "Take care Mikan-chan, see you soon_—_" Ruka called out as Tono quickly pulled on Ruka's arm, dragging him down. Ruka, stumbling backwards before he could say anything, disappeared with a blink of an eye with Tono.

And with that, Okinawa's cold ocean breeze washed over them as a slight silence over took their presence.

Mikan, looking over at Natsume, took his hand in hers.

"Alright! Let's get going O-chibi-chan! I need a nice hot bath!" Tsubasa said to no one in particular, breaking their grasps on each other as he pushed Mikan gently from behind forward in the direction of her home.

-End of Chapter 1-

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Next is Chapter 2: A Night To Remember

With a curious look, Mikan thought, _"Then I'm going to take my bath before he does! I wonder what he'd do..." _Mikan thought slyly as she slowly backed away towards the sliding doors, leaving the two of them to their fiesta.

Heading down the hall to the bathroom, with her strawberry patterned pajamas and shower basket, Mikan swung the doors of the bathroom open.

Looking up, she gave a sudden gasp of surprise as she dropped her shower basket. Standing in front of her, half-naked with black coloured boxers on, stood an unfazed Natsume with his dark raven locks dripping wet.

To be continued.

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Disclaimer: I don't own GA.


	2. Chapter 2: A Night To Remember

**Gakuen Alice - Finding Hotaru**

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**Chapter 2: A Night To Remember**

—At Mikan's Home—

"Oi, Polkadots, why does Kage get to shower first?" Natsume asked, leaning against the sliding door frame as he pointed in Tsubasa's direction, who was singing away in the bathroom to Rei's new single, _Indefinite._

"Well, you didn't say anything about going first, and Jii-chan is busy cooking dinner for all of us." Mikan stated as she pulled out extra futons from the sliding closet.

"Mikan! The stove won't work! It must be the lack of firewood, go get some more!" Jii-chan called out from the kitchen.

"Better yet, please go help him Natsume," Mikan grinned up at him.

"Tsk," Was Natsume's reply as he eyed her before heading towards the kitchen to help Jii-chan.

"He's still the same, isn't he Bear?" Mikan asked him as Bear looked up at her from the corner of her bed, giving her an expressionless tilt of her head.

"Alright, I'm going to carry these to the guest room next door." Mikan said as she stood up, futons in her arms.

As she walked out the door, she suddenly bumped into something, or someone. As the futons flew up into the air, just before she fell backwards, a slightly wet arm grabbed her by the hand, preventing her from falling.

"Oh, oh, careful there Mikan-chan." Tsubasa called out to her as he quickly caught the flying futons and froze Mikan mid-air with his shadow manipulation alice.

"Tsubasa-senpai! You surprised me!" Mikan yelled out as her shadow slowly moved her back onto her feet.

Looking up at him, Mikan couldn't help but relieve a faint rosy glow on her delicate features after seeing Tsubasa half-naked with only a white, knee-length towel hanging on his hips. "Tsubasa!" Mikan shouted as she covered her eyes with her hands.

"Oh right! Ochibi-chan is there any extra clothes?" Tsubasa asked as Bear walked over, lightly punching and kicking Tsubasa's leg.

BONK. The sudden collision of Tsubasa's head to a pan had left him in a sudden daze on the ground. Standing behind him, stood Natsume, pan in hand.

"Oi, what's this idiot doing?" Natsume asked as he stepped on Tsubasa twitching figure. Mikan sweat dropped and replied, "I'll go grab you two some yukatas." She quickly exited her room to head down the hall for Jii-chan's bedroom.

_"Mou! Why does he always have to be so rude?"_ Mikan asked herself as she scurried along the halls, arriving at Jii-chan's room. Walking over to his closet, she grabbed his old navy blue yukatas that were offered to the occasional temple visitors they had.

First hanging a pair on the towel rack in the bathroom, she headed towards the guest room to hand another to Tsubasa. Peering into the guest room, she noticed Natsume wasn't around. Instead, a futon wrapped Tsubasa was sitting on the tatami matted floors, happily playing with Bear.

"Oh! Mikan-chan!" Tsubasa called out to her as Mikan watched them from the doorway. Mikan answered with, "Here Senpai." As she handed Bear his yukata to bring over to him.

"Arigatou Mikan-chan!" Tsubasa thanked her as he stood up. "I'll be going now!" Mikan quickly exclaimed without a second look, as she exited the room to let him strip and change.

Walking towards the kitchen, Mikan couldn't help but be glad that she was out of there.

At the kitchen, Mikan caught her grandpa making dinner as she walked towards the fridge to cut up some strawberries for dessert later.

"Jii-chan, where's Natsume?" Mikan asked nonchalantly as Jii-chan stirred the curry katsu in the pot.

"Hmmm… if I remember, I think he said he was going to get some extra firewood ready for me." Jii-chan said light heartedly, "Ii otokonoko."

_"If you only knew..." _Mikan sighed as she thought about how he touched her breasts at the beach.

After a while, Mikan decided to share her plan to rescue Hotaru to Jii-chan. "_Better now than never..._" she thought.

"Jii-chan... I'll be leaving tomorrow," She started, "I'm going to rescue Hotaru. I'm not quite sure when I'll be back Jii-chan, but I just wanted to let you that I'm a big girl now and that I can-"

"Mikan…" Jii-chan with his back turned, interrupted her softly, "You're 16. As much as I wish you were still a little baby, I will always be your Jii-chan and will always welcome you here as family. There won't be a day that I won't be worrying about you once you leave, but I want you to know that up in the stars, your mother and father are proudly watching over you as I am here. Never forget that you're not alone."

"You're not mad?" Mikan asked.

"Of course I'm not mad, that young man told me earlier. How could I be mad when someone that looks like they could take on the world for you look me in the eyes and tell me you'll be safe. That you wouldn't be alone on your journey."

Touched by Jii-chan's words, streaks of tears left Mikan as she came from behind him and gave Jii-chan a hug.

"Now, now, it's okay." Jii-chan consoled her as he patted her hands and shed his own tears in silence.

Unseen and hidden behind the wall, leaned Natsume who listened quietly.

As Mikan enters through the sliding doors of the main room, after cleaning up everything from dinner, she catches Jii-chan with an arm over Tsubasa, sake in hand.

"Mikan-chan, it's so nice that you could bring two of your friends to our home!" Jii-chan commented, his face flush from the sake he'd been drinking.

"Mikan, you didn't tell me that that little brat proposed to you!" Tsubasa called out to her, his face as red as a cherry.

"NANI! Mikan is engaged?!" Jii-chan shouted loudly, trying to stand up, only to fall back down clumsily from the alcohol.

"Jii-chan! Tsubasa-senpai!" Mikan shouted as she attempted to dodge the question and take the sake from Jii-chan's hands. Jii-chan, as old as he was, swiftly moved his hands out of range and quickly drank a shot of his sake.

"You still have too many years until you beat me little one." Jii-chan exclaimed with pride as he poured another cup for Tsubasa and him.

"To Mikan's last night and quest to find Hotaru. KANPAI!" Jii-chan shouted as he and Tsubasa clanked their sake cups and took a quick swig of it.

Irritated, Mikan suddenly wondered where Natsume was and asked Tsubasa. Tsubasa drunkenly replied, "He said he was going to step out for a bit."

With a curious look, Mikan thought, _"Then I'm going to take my bath before he does! I wonder what he'd do..." _Mikan thought slyly as she slowly backed away towards the sliding doors, leaving the two of them to their fiesta.

Heading down the hall to the bathroom, with her strawberry patterned pajamas and shower basket, Mikan swung the doors of the bathroom open.

Looking up, she gave a sudden gasp of surprise as she dropped her shower basket. Standing in front of her, half-naked with black coloured boxers on, stood an unfazed Natsume with his dark raven locks dripping wet.

Gawking, before she could turn her eyes away, Natsume looked up at her and gave his all famous smirk and commented, "Like what you see Polka dots?"

With a deep rush of rose embracing the colours of her cheeks, she quickly willed her eyes away and onto her feet. Seeing her things all sprawled onto the floor, Mikan succeeded in bending down to grab her first item, her polka-dotted panties.

"I see that you haven't changed after so many years." Natsume commented as he eyed her, all while bending down to pick up her strawberry-scented shampoo that had rolled to his feet.

Hearing his comment, Mikan hastily grabbed the rest of her belongings only to find her shampoo missing. With all her power to not look up, she could only manage to squeak out, "I need that," while starring at her toes, her hand out.

Seeing this as an opportunity, Natsume took a few steps towards her, stopping only an arm's length away and slyly remarked, "What are you getting embarrassed about? We're 16 years old for crying out loud."

Suddenly annoyed at his comment, Mikan looked up only to suddenly be grabbed by her hand that was demanding her missing shampoo, and pulled into Natsume's half-naked embrace and be smacked into a delicious wet kiss.

Catching Mikan off guard, she could suddenly feel the urgency and want of Natsume's lips. His mouth was hot, yet his kiss was gently and deep. The emotions that erupted from her had reminded her of the kisses they had on the night of Christmas, when the moon was full and the night was cold.

Feeling like her knees were about to give in soon, Natsume gently and playfully pushed her away, grabbing her basket in the process before it spilled all over the floor again.

Swiftly, he dropped the shampoo bottle back into the basket and handed her belongings to her. "Oi, you should probably wipe your mouth. I wanted a kiss not a drooling girl." Natsume smirked as he grabbed the yukata that Mikan had fetched for him, which was carefully folded and placed on the towel handles, and with swift, graceful ease, put it on and tied the ends around himself.

"I wasn't drooling! And, it was your fault you didn't lock the door in the first place! And also—" Before she could finish, Natsume side-stepped around her and was already out the door.

"All yours Polkadots." He stated as he walked down the hallway.

"NATSUME!" Mikan screamed after him as a small, noiseless chuckle escaped him, unbeknownst to Mikan.

_ "Geeze, that stupid Natsume."_ Mikan thought as she refilled the tub with hot water. Stripping down, she dunked her head into the bathtub and blew bubbles, "_Why does he always make me so flustered?"_

Feeling a certain sensation erupting,_ "Why does he always make me feel such things," _Mikan thought with a blush as she suddenly thought about the way he looked prior to her bath, "..._he's changed so much_."

"_Now that I think of it, I hope Jii-chan isn't going to make him drink sake too…" _Mikan sweat dropped as she conjured up an imagery of a drunk and flushed Natsume.

Laying back to float in her bathtub, Mikan soon thought about Hotaru. "Hotaru…" Mikan called out to no one in particular, "_I wonder if she's okay…"_

Closing her eyes and thinking about the times she had with Hotaru, a small smile with a tinge of sadness graced her features, "_Soon Hotaru. I'm coming for you soon."_

And with that, Mikan erased all of her deep thoughts to finish up her bath so that she could check up on the boys.

Standing at the doorway of the main room, drying her hair with her towel, Mikan looked around as she witnessed two, very drunk men, lying flat on the floor in their yukatas completely passed out.

"Jii-chan…" Mikan voiced out irritably as she approached the two of them. Letting out a huge exasperated sigh, Mikan could only smile before grabbing Jii-chan by the arms and dragging him away to his room.

Upon return, Mikan found Bear, sitting on Tsubasa's lap. "Where have you been Bear? You should have stopped them!" Mikan exclaimed as she grabbed Tsubasa by the arms, Bear still in his lap, and dragged them both to the guest room.

After cleaning up after their mess, Mikan pondered, "_I wonder where Natsume is…"_ Before she could even think of any possibilities, Natsume opened the sliding doors to their backyard and let the cold April night wash over them.

"Natsume! Where were you? What were you doing?" Mikan questioned him as Natsume sat down and leaned against the sliding door frame.

"Betsuni." Natsume replied nonchalantly as Mikan walked to sit down next to him he stated, "The air around here reeks of sake."

As the quiet silence loomed over them, feeling the awkward tension rise, Mikan turned her attention towards him, only to find Natsume suddenly leaning towards her, "Nani?" Mikan asked suspiciously. Combing her wet strands around her fingers, before she could retort another word, Natsume spoke softly, "Mikan…" And with that, he leaned over and flicked her nose. "Itai! What was that fo—?" Before she could finish, Natsume stood and stretched.

"Heading to sleep, Baka~" Natsume chimed as he left to head down to the guest room. After sometime, Mikan gave a big yawn before shutting the sliding doors and heading to her own bed for a good night's rest.

In the hallway, Mikan could hear the loud snores coming from Jii-chan's room and the guest room. Taking a small peek into the guest room on the way, she could see that Tsubasa was completely knocked out next to Bear on his own futon. Beside him, she could see Natsume wrapped in his futon, gently sleeping with not a single snore escaping him except the light breathing and the rise and fall of his chest.

Intrigued, Mikan entered their room. Taking small steps, she slowly approached Natsume. "_It's been such a long time since I've seen him sleep… just a small peek couldn't hurt," _she thought.

Thinking he had fallen asleep, Mikan stooped down onto her knees beside his futon, taking a closer look at his features and breathing in his clean, after-shower scent. Catching her breath after realizing her actions, a faint blush dawned her features.

_"How did he turn out this way…"_ She thought.

Wanting an even closer look, Mikan lifted her hand to push his bangs back, only to suddenly have her hand caught midway by the black cat.

"Natsume!" Mikan gasped as he slowly sat up from his futon, a wide smirk on his face.

"I didn't take you for a pervert." Natsume teased her as she turned beet red in the darkness. Lucky for her, he couldn't tell.

"I-I-I wasn't going to do anything! And I am definitely not a pervert like you!" Mikan defended herself in a loud whisper.

"Whatever you want to believe." Natsume replied softly as he pulled her on top of him in one fluid motion and kissed her deeply.

"Oh no…" Mikan lightly moaned as she continued to melt into him, forgetting everything around her except him.

Feeling his kiss, heavy and hot, she gently moaned as his tongue entered and explored her mouth.

After a while, they finally broke free from their deep kiss. Arms feeling exhausted from prying herself up, Mikan rolled herself beside him.

"Did you enjoy that Polkadots?" Natsume asked sadistically, as he reached out to hold her. Entrapping her in his arms.

Looking away, a small smile graced her features. Entranced by her smile, Natsume could only continue to gaze at her, not a single snide remark coming to mind. Finally meeting his eyes, Mikan and Natsume looked at each other for the longest time, before a small chuckle erupted from the both of them.

Enjoying the moment, they both continued to look at each other, with only Tsubasa's snores silencing them.

"I thought you were asleep already." She admitted with a grin.

"As if anyone could sleep with THAT thing next to them." Natsume commented, a smirk playing on his lips.

Letting out a soft laugh, Mikan broke the silence between them, "I better get going…it's late." Escaping his hold on her, she got up from his futon.

As she turned to leave the room, Natsume reached out and grabbed her hand. "I'll walk you there."

"But-" Unable to argue any further so as to keep Tsubasa, who was now stirring in his sleep, she led the way to her room.

Finally in her room, Natsume let go of her hand. Before she could turn to say good night, he picked her up onto her feet in his usual graceful motion and gently lay her down onto her bed.

Surprised, Mikan was going to argue again when Natsume swiftly climbed onto her bed as well and trapped her beneath him. Starring down at her, holding her arms over her head he whispered, "'l'll be spending the night here until you fall asleep. Whether you like it or not."

"What? Wait! You can't!" Mikan argued as she tried to fight him off with no prevail. Exhausted, she gave in and let Natsume lie next to her in bed, sharing her covers. Fighting her urge to smile at his actions, she slowly grew tired with her struggles, as did Natsume. Before long, sleep consumed them, with only a single thought lingering in their minds.

_"This will definitely be a night to remember."_

-End of Chapter 2-


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